SouthCoast bets on short-term shutdown

NEW BEDFORD — SouthCoast organizations are crossing their fingers in the hope that Congress will resolve the government shutdown soon and save them from feeling the consequences of the budget impasse.

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By NATALIE SHERMAN

southcoasttoday.com

By NATALIE SHERMAN

Posted Oct. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2013 at 12:34 PM

By NATALIE SHERMAN

Posted Oct. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2013 at 12:34 PM

» Social News

NEW BEDFORD — SouthCoast organizations are crossing their fingers in the hope that Congress will resolve the government shutdown soon and save them from feeling the consequences of the budget impasse.

"As of today, we're assuming this is a short-term issue," New Bedford Public School Business Manager Patrick Murphy said.

"We're just hoping that ... the next deadline is going to have some resolutions so we don't have to ponder what our other options would be," PACE Headstart Children's Services Director Paula Sorensen said. "In the meantime, we're trying to take care of children and families."

For most school programs, the federal money being used in districts this year was appropriated as part of the previous budget cycle, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesman JC Considine said.

The exceptions include this month's installments of money for programs, including Title I, that provide money to districts with a large percentage of low-income students and the school lunch awards, which could be delayed, he said. In fiscal 2013, the city received roughly $6.8 million in Title 1 and Title 2A grants, among other federal assistance.

Murphy said the district is safe for the next few weeks.

"Effectively it becomes cash flow issues for the state to figure out, the city to figure out and then, if it comes down to us, the schools," Murphy said. "It's all a trickle-down effect."

The closure of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development means that employees are not available to process records or provide technical assistance, said Patrick Sullivan, executive director of the city's Office of Housing and Community Development, which administers about $5.3 million in federal grants. Funding so far is not affected, he said.

"If we start to see a delay that might impact those services, we'll have to come up with some strategies to deal with it, but right now we're hopeful that this will be resolved in the very near future," he said.

Sorensen of PACE Headstart said her organization is also spared for now, thanks to operating on a grant cycle that starts Nov. 1. But other branches have been affected, she said.

"If people are upset, they need to contact their congressman and express that concern," she said. "I know that sometimes people feel like a letter or a phone call or an email really isn't anything, but in fact it's very much what these people in Congress will finally listen to."